Why workers hate Chipotle

Why workers hate Chipotle

by Wayne Hsiung

The New York Times writes today about how Chipotle's own shareholders overwhelmingly voted down an executive pay package for CEO Steve Ells, who has received $300 million in recent years while paying his employees less than $10/hour, and other corporate kingpins. The vote occurred as labor protests against abuses by fast food chains, including Chipotle, expand worldwide.

This reminds me of a point we've made over and over again. Chipotle and its corporate ilk are bad, not just for animals, but for America. They talk about sustainability while refusing any sort of environmental audit or accounting. They brag about how much they love their workers while driving them to insanity with time pressure and piddling wages. And they glow to the world about how much they love animals while killing millions every year.

The era of robber barons is over. Smart corporations that seek to continue their exploitative practices have to repackage oppression in an ethical veneer. And this is one of the many reasons we selected Chipotle as the focus for our It's not Food, It's violence campaign. And it is why, as you will hear more about in the months to come, we have had current and former Chipotle employees come to us with allegations of corporate abuses.

A company that would do such horrible things to animals for profit will not leave vulnerable human beings untouched. And so, today, DxE stands in solidarity with the workers all over the world who point out that there is something deeply problematic about our fast food nation, and increasingly, our fast food world.